Pierre Poilievre insists no MPs will jump ship despite rumours of Conservative caucus dissent

Potential signs of discontent within Poilievre’s caucus intensified earlier Wednesday after Radio-Canada reported that five Conservative MPs, all of whom were unnamed, felt their leader had done little to change his message or image following his spring election defeat, with one MP telling the media outlet that his comments about the RCMP were proof he would not be prime minister. 

That report followed a blistering op-ed published in the Star from a former adviser to former prime minister Stephen Harper, suggesting that frustration with Poilievre’s leadership style was simmering in Conservative circles.

On a taping with online media channel Northern Perspective last week, Poilievre said former prime minister Justin Trudeau broke the law by vacationing with his family at an island owned by the Aga Khan, and that he “probably violated the criminal code” during the SNC-Lavalin affair. 

The Conservative leader said “many of the scandals of the Trudeau era should have involved jail time” and that if “the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for (Trudeau), then he would have been criminally charged” following the Aga Khan scandal. 

That prompted Poilievre to call the leadership of the RCMP “just despicable” when it came to enforcing laws against Liberals. 

(The RCMP declined to pursue an investigation into the SNC-Lavalin affair, citing insufficient evidence, in part because of its inability to access all confidential government documents. Like the Aga Khan controversy, however, Trudeau was found to have violated federal ethics law.) 

When asked Wednesday whether his suggestion that Trudeau ought to have been jailed went too far, Poilievre repeatedly denied that framing.

“That’s not what I said,” the Conservative leader said.

“I’ll tell you what I said. I was asked about the scandals of the last 10 years of the Liberal government and what would I do if such scandals and corruption were to happen when I become prime minister, and I said I would have zero tolerance for corruption. Nobody is above the law.” 

The leader’s Wednesday’s defence of his comments follows earlier attempts this week to provide his MPs with talking points on the matter, to clarify that he broadly supports the national police force, and that his condemnations were specifically directed at former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki. 

Conservative MPs have faced a barrage of questions this week over whether they believe Poilievre’s comments were inappropriate.

Ontario Conservative MP Michael Barrett said his leader’s remarks “speak for themselves.”

“He offered a precision that I think was very important. I think it’s also important, the precision that he supports, that we support, and I will affirm that I support, the men and women of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” said Barrett, on his way into his party’s Wednesday caucus meeting.

“There’s a five-alarm fire going on in this country with jobs, with inflation. Inflation (is) way over target. So that’s where we’re going (to be) talking about today,” said Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer, who served as opposition leader in the House of Commons when Poilievre was briefly without a seat this year. 

Alberta MP Greg McLean, meanwhile, said he had “a lot of friends in the RCMP” and that he respects the “work that the RCMP does, particularly in these trying times.”

Following the meeting, two MPs said there was unity among their caucus colleagues regarding Poilievre’s leadership, with Ontario MP Andrew Lawton, who penned a biography of Poilievre published last year, saying there was “absolutely” consensus on backing their leader. 

Poilievre is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney later Wednesday afternoon to discuss his budget priorities. 

“I’m going to sit down with him today. And if he takes my suggestions, bringing down the deficit to the level … the Liberal government promised, of getting rid of the hidden taxes on food, well, then, let’s have a look at it,” Poilievre said, on whether there was any universe in which he’d support Carney’s first fiscal blueprint.